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rosemaryjane_gw

wobbly gloxinia

rosemaryjane
19 years ago

I was given a gloxinia as a gift last year--so beautiful but as I have discovered, so much work! So, it went dormant, I repotted the tuber after a couple of months and about a month or so ago it started growing again. Now he leaves are plentiful and healthy looking, and everything seemed to be going well. Except the other morning it kind of looked lop-sided and I gave it a little push and was startled to find that the base of the plant is VERY wobbly. I have been told in the case of african violets that means it has root damage (like from over-watering.) I'm confused as to how this could happen... i thought i had the hang of watering it properly last year.

Is there anything else that could be causing it to become so wobbly? Maybe this is normal and I never noticed it before. It is leggier than it was last year (not as much light in this location, but my only other option was placing it where it could get too much light and burn the leaves.) Also, I've been fertilizing it with every watering so I will hopefully get lots of blooms soon, but can you kill a plant's root system with too much fertilizer?

Any suggestions/ideas/help you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks kindly,

rosemary jane

Comments (4)

  • greenelbows1
    19 years ago

    You definitely can kill a plant's root system with too much fertilizer, but I'm betting the main problem is not enough light. Sinningias (common name gloxinia, a different species entirely actually) need a lot of light and people often have trouble growing them in the house because they need so much more than other plants in the same (gesneriad) family like African Violets and Streps.

  • jon_d
    19 years ago

    The roots come from the tuber, so if the plant is wobbly then the questions is: Does the tuber wobble too. I suspect the condition is caused by the weak spot where the stem comes up from the tuber. There is nothing that can be done for this now. It probably needs more light, both to grow more compactly and to set lots of buds. But, at least with your feeding you are building up the tuber. Its not too late though to flower and enjoy the plant as it is. I would put in some small stakes, such as bamboo skewers to support the growth, so that it doesn't lean or, worse, break off. If there are buds in the crown then it is going to flower. If not, then move it to a brighter location. Florist Gloxinias are easy to root and propagate. You can root crowns or leaves quite easily in an enclosed environment and in good light.

    Jon

  • Cat_Gal
    19 years ago

    Rosemary,
    Leginess seems to be a characteristic of florist gloxinias. I have read on the AGGS forum that the best thing to do (besides good light)is pot the soil up to the lowest set of leaves. If the first baby leaves are still there, you can strip them and pot up the the next lowest. The newly potted portion will root given high humdity. I have learned this after removing two plants from the tuber. (Mine went into dormancy and three little guys popped up instead of one.)
    -CG

    Here is a link that might be useful: AGGS Gloxinia Forum

  • rosemaryjane
    Original Author
    19 years ago

    thanks so much for all the info. very helpful stuff!

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